Truly, Madly Texas

Gaddy’s second Texas True romance (after Texas Forged) suffers from a slight plot despite strong chemistry between its leads. Chase Walker, a rodeo champion who’s temporarily out of commission after being thrown from a horse, meets Ella Slade at a bar; sparks fly and they sleep together. But neither of them realizes that Ella, who recently quit her job at her cheating ex-fiancé’s ranch, is interviewing at Chase’s family ranch only days later. She’s the perfect person for the job, so Ella and Chase agree to keep things strictly business going forward—but it proves difficult to forget their night of passion. Chase is not Ella’s direct boss, but his tendency to question her about her love life at work will still leave some readers less than charmed. Between the pair’s inability to keep things professional and the fact that Chase’s family supports their relationship, Gaddy must resort to improbable developments to keep the pair apart. A subplot involving Chase’s ex and the ample presence of paparazzi in rural Texas seems engineered to create conflict, but even this is diffused quickly, leaving Ella’s insistence that she can’t date another rodeo cowboy to drag the plot across the finish line. All but diehard series fans can skip this one. (May)